Totally different sailing this morning when we woke up. We were in open water as we crossed the large Ijsselmeer Lake (see map) from Kampen to Enikhuizen where we went ashore to visit the Zuiderzee Museum.
Back in the 1930's the Afsluitdijk was built to reclaim land flooded by storms from the North Sea. This closed off the Zuiderzee to salt water and formed the fresh water Ijsselmeer (meer = lake.) This destroyed the majority of the fishing industry and local villages were deserted as fishermen and their families moved to more profitable locations. Fortunately, the Zuiderzee Museum has preserved this era. Various structures from the deserted villages along the former salt water sea were moved to Enkhuizen where a Buitenmuseum (open-air museum) despicts seven centuries of life in an old Zuiderzee town. It was fascinating to wander through homes and stores from the villages I loved the one-room school house with a bench holding the small wooden shoes of the students. Demonstrations of how herring and eel were smoked as well as how rope was made from hemp further depicted local life. Today was a beautiful day and the attached photo is of us on a canal running through the village.
Back on our river boat, we started cruising toward Horn, but everyone ran up to the bow when we got to a large lock that allowed us to sail on top of a major highway. Funny experience to look at cars and trucks speeding by under the boat.
By the time lunch was over we had arrived at Horn, the capital of ancient West Friesland and one of the great seafaring towns of the Golden Age of the 16th century. Again, choices had to be made. We could either spend time exploring this charming medieval city or visit the Schermer Windmill Museum and a Dutch cheese farm. We opted for the latter.
And what a wise choice! We drove out into the Dutch countryside along beatiful small canals and fields of cows and windmills. After a very interesting demonstration on the process of cheesemaking we were taken to the barns where the cows were being milked. This was my favorite part. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I'm doing a study of happy cows. I know where the happiest ones live (Normany, New Zealand and The Netherlands) and now I've found the happiest farm. These cows are robot milked. They lounge around in the lush green fields until they have eaten so much grass and so full of milk that they stroll into the barn. When the urge hits them, they line up and enter one by one into the milking trough where a robot mechanically milks them. As they get into position a laser guides the milking tube to the fullest teat, cleans it off and then proceeds to milk the cow. We could see the milk being siphoned through clear tubes to a collecting jar. Once the "job" is completed, the cow is given a cookie. If she is faking it and just trying to get a cookie but doesn't have enough milk, the robot does not give her a cookie. Each cow produces about 25 liters a day of milk. Once the milking is completed, she steps in a trough to wash her feet and then is free the rest of the day. What a life!!!
From this exciting and informative venue we drove to the Schermer Windmill Museum. I can't fully convey how vital windmills are to life in The Netherlands. Although only a thousand still remain, at one time there were 9000. Initially windmills were used to grind grain; however, as the Dutch defeated the Spanish in the 17th century and Amsterdam grew along with the wealth of merchants and seamen, there came a need to reclaim land from the sea. This led to the development of draining mills which have reclaimed tremendous amounts of land. We passed fields and fields of windmills and spent time at this wonderful museum and saw how windmills are still used to move water from low areas to higher areas. The battle to salvage land from the sea is truly a tribute to Dutch ingenuity.
We've met delightful people on this cruse and even had dinner tonight with a couple from Sun City in Georgetown! We have been sailing from Horn since 6:30 and are arriving in Amsterdam as a I write. From the large windows in our cabin, I can see a full moon over the water with the city in the background -- what a view!
Tomorrow will be a highpoint in the cruise for me as we spend the morning at the famous Keunkenhof Gardens. I was last there in 1972 and was overwhelmed by acres and acres of beautiful tulips. I'm charging the camera battery to be able to capture some new memories.
From Amsterdam...
Linda
And what a wise choice! We drove out into the Dutch countryside along beatiful small canals and fields of cows and windmills. After a very interesting demonstration on the process of cheesemaking we were taken to the barns where the cows were being milked. This was my favorite part. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I'm doing a study of happy cows. I know where the happiest ones live (Normany, New Zealand and The Netherlands) and now I've found the happiest farm. These cows are robot milked. They lounge around in the lush green fields until they have eaten so much grass and so full of milk that they stroll into the barn. When the urge hits them, they line up and enter one by one into the milking trough where a robot mechanically milks them. As they get into position a laser guides the milking tube to the fullest teat, cleans it off and then proceeds to milk the cow. We could see the milk being siphoned through clear tubes to a collecting jar. Once the "job" is completed, the cow is given a cookie. If she is faking it and just trying to get a cookie but doesn't have enough milk, the robot does not give her a cookie. Each cow produces about 25 liters a day of milk. Once the milking is completed, she steps in a trough to wash her feet and then is free the rest of the day. What a life!!!
From this exciting and informative venue we drove to the Schermer Windmill Museum. I can't fully convey how vital windmills are to life in The Netherlands. Although only a thousand still remain, at one time there were 9000. Initially windmills were used to grind grain; however, as the Dutch defeated the Spanish in the 17th century and Amsterdam grew along with the wealth of merchants and seamen, there came a need to reclaim land from the sea. This led to the development of draining mills which have reclaimed tremendous amounts of land. We passed fields and fields of windmills and spent time at this wonderful museum and saw how windmills are still used to move water from low areas to higher areas. The battle to salvage land from the sea is truly a tribute to Dutch ingenuity.
We've met delightful people on this cruse and even had dinner tonight with a couple from Sun City in Georgetown! We have been sailing from Horn since 6:30 and are arriving in Amsterdam as a I write. From the large windows in our cabin, I can see a full moon over the water with the city in the background -- what a view!
Tomorrow will be a highpoint in the cruise for me as we spend the morning at the famous Keunkenhof Gardens. I was last there in 1972 and was overwhelmed by acres and acres of beautiful tulips. I'm charging the camera battery to be able to capture some new memories.
From Amsterdam...
Linda
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